Motivational year-end speeches (when it’s been a sh!t year)
“Well, it’s been a shit year.”
That might be devastatingly honest, but probably not how you want to open your year-end speech when it’s been more than that. So, how can you use the year’s challenges to inspire your company to rest and rise stronger in the new one?
In a recent case study, my client, a CEO of a rapidly growing multi-million-pound start-up, arrived with this very pain point.
The business had grown fast and felt “brutal,” with people “digging deep for a long time” before seeing results.
The year had been “sort of successful” with “some stumbles.”
He had a long 90-minute slot to fill and needed it to land powerfully, and for the first time, in front of his US team
In his words, he needed his speech to:
“Close the year out… with a powerful message and go into 25 in a real energized manner.”
“Make sure to remind everyone exactly what we’re here for.”
Deliver familiar themes in a way that would “inspire” the team again.
MOTIVATIONAL YEAR END SPEECHES WHEN you are feeling battered by the year that has just passed, CAN TEMPT YOU TO reach for the language of the beaten.
Why is that? Because it is comforting. If you have been through the wringer, your first instinct is not to soften and open up. Growth is complicated. It hurts. Being part of a team, especially leading one, is some of the hardest work we will ever do in relationships. How do relationships improve? They are given space to break a little, so that they can rebuild stronger.
how can you appear AS A stronger LEADER by opening up to how you were affected too?
Instinctively, my client used phrases such as:
“It’s been a bit of a choppy and turbulent year with a lot of change, but ultimately a successful one.”
“Now, everyone has to roll their sleeves up.”
“It doesn’t always look like there’s light at the end of the tunnel, but there is.”
This gave us the emotional texture to work with. It was honest and, very humanly, a bit tired. The job was not to replace it but to uncover the gems within it. It is easy to lean away from personal vulnerability. To want to tell everyone to “buck up.” To take on the father-figure tone that delivers a talking to.
A big problem of a motivational end-of-year speech is that it is the cold dead of winter, and everyone wants a holiday.
I challenged my client to open things up a little. I asked questions not to polish but to draw out his experience. How had he faced and overcome exertion and exhaustion before? What had he learned? Most importantly, what did he want to hear when he was going through it?
He started talking about rugby. Not being someone who knows much about that, I asked, “What exactly is that all about?” He described the difference between starters and finishers in the sport. We explored that picture. I suggested that there was a piece there about limitation. If your starters cling to being finishers, then you finish weak rather than strong. Your starters have to know their limits, let go of ego, and develop the ability to hand over to those who can finish strong.
My client, an endurance runner, built on this idea. He said, “If we think of your marathon mile 21, it seems like you’ve had some mile 21 moments in the business this year, but you haven’t wanted to give up because of the team you’ve assembled.”
Through questioning, we surfaced language and imagery that were already his. We found metaphors gave the speech texture, integrity and emotional depth.
To hold attention for ninety minutes, we also needed structure. He said, “It would be great if I could just think about the literal stuff that I need to include. I need to cover off this, this, this and this.” We ordered factual check-offs, emotional beats, and personal stories so that the structure held attention and allowed the narrative to land.
He shifted from reporting the year to making meaning. Instead of listing updates, he crafted a shared story the team could locate themselves in.
What we built together was:
A clear central narrative about a turbulent but ultimately successful year, grounded in grit and collective effort.
A set of big metaphors and emotional through-lines that included his personal passions, rugby, endurance, starters and finishers, and family, to rally the team and make familiar themes feel fresh.
A structured speech arc that balanced honesty, personal story, and forward-looking energy, avoiding the formulaic year-end presentation.
That is the work of a motivational year-end speech when it has been a bit of a sh!t one. You can acknowledge turbulence, fatigue, and blunt honesty, but surrendering instead to your humanity, and how you were affected by it too, can help your team see you as someone they can trust to feel it all with them and rise alongside them. With that you can tell a story that holds people together as they step into what comes next with you, not against you.
I’m Doug Crossley, I tell stories and I help people tell theirs. If you’re looking for a business speech writer or public speaking coach consider instead working with someone you trust to walk beside you. If you’re ready to work with someone who brings warmth, rigour, and creative partnership to the process, explore my website and how the right collaboration can help your story become what it’s meant to be. Want to discover more? Book in a free call to discuss your project.
